Bye-bye Bluebirds as Cardiff owner sees red

09 May 2012 05:46

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The Malaysian owner of Championship side Cardiff City has angered fans by suggesting that the club scraps its famous blue kit in favour of red shirts, reports said Wednesday.

Cardiff -- known as the Bluebirds for their iconic blue shirts -- saw their hopes of promotion to the Premier League dashed by West Ham on Monday after defeat in the second leg of their play-off semi-final.

Owner Vincent Tan, a Malaysian tycoon of Chinese origin, is now considering changing Cardiff's strip to red, believing it to be a luckier colour, a report in The Sun said.

The paper also suggested the club was considering replacing the bluebird on its club crest with a dragon, which appears on the national flag of Wales and which in Chinese culture is considered a symbol of power, strength and luck, as is red.

The BBC quoted a spokesman for a Cardiff City supporters group as saying that a decision to change the colours and badge had already been taken.

To soften the blow, Tan's consortium has offered to invest £100 million (124 million euros, $162,000) on players, a new training ground and stadium improvements, the report said.

"We were told in no uncertain terms that this was a fait accompli," said supporters chief Tim Hartley following a meeting with Bluebirds chief executive Alan Whiteley.

"This investment is going to come into the club. We were shown a design of the logo, Cardiff City will be playing in red, they will be wearing a dragon on their chests," Hartley told the BBC.